Programming an HT using your computer

[Stever]

I hope that someone can help me. I'm new at this HT programming stuff. I'd like to use FT-60 Commander. I downloaded the software from www.kc8unj.com

Can anyone tell me which cable is needed? Where to buy one? Thanks.

PS, any other tips about this software/system would be appreciated.

 

[Moleculo]

The cable depends on which HT you are using. Check the list on this site to pick the right one and purchase it.

Jim Mitchell - KC8UNJ

For most of these you will also need a USB to serial adapter, which you can get online or at any computer shop. After you get the cables and software, I think you'll find programming the HT will be very straight forward.

 

[Stever]

Thanks for pointing out that website. I've downloaded the program and will be emailing some questions about the equipment.

From what I've read at eham, it's easier to enter freqs and settings into a program rather than mess with the keypad.

 

[Moleculo]

Oh yeah, it's definately easier using an application. A lot of the HT software is kind've crappy (by my standards), but it still beats doing it manually.

 

[SR385]

Oh yeah, it's definately easier using an application. A lot of the HT software is kind've crappy (by my standards), but it still beats doing it manually.

The other major plus is you have a backup copy once you fill it all out, so if you need to do a full reset on the radio, you can just "click" and restore all the settings.

Once you get the hang of the software, most of it will allow you to either export and import for other radios or export to CSV which you can reformat to match another radio's spec and import it again. Basically, once you have a nice big file of all the local repeaters, loading that file into other types of radios isn't all that hard.